IRC (Internet
Relay Chat) is a virtual meeting place where people from all over
the world can meet and talk; you'll find the whole diversity of human
interests, ideas, and issues here, and you'll be able to participate
in group discussions on one of the many thousands of IRC channels,
or just talk in private to family or friends, wherever they are in
the world.
Internet Relay
Chat (IRC) is one of the most popular and most interactive services
on the Internet. Sure, the Web is nice for finding info and E-mail
beats snailmail hands down, but when you've been wondering 'where
the others are?', then IRC is what you're looking for.
IRC is the net's
equivalent of CB radio. But unlike CB, Internet Relay Chat lets people
all over the world participate in real-time conversations. IRC is
where the Net comes alive!
Meeting people.
IRC is great fun and you'll sure meet lots of interesting people and
find nice spots to hang out! But, IRC is not something that you should
just jump into without first reading up on it. You could feel very
lost if you do not know some basic commands before you enter IRC,
and you might not even know how to get out of IRC after that :o) So,
we suggest you read some documentation (help files, readmes, FAQs
etc) before you get connected to an IRC server, or it can be very
frustrating for you when you get stuck.
As in life -and
CB radio- not all those chatters have something interesting to say,
but some do, and many people have developed lasting friendships through
IRC. Even marriages have resulted from relationships first forged
on IRC. In fact, some people have become so addicted to chatting on
the Internet that there's a Usenet newsgroup entitled alt.irc.recovery.
The value of IRC
depends on how you use it. IRC can keep you company when you can't
sleep, contribute to family togetherness and cut your phone bill.
It also can expose you to unpleasant behavior. Chats can get wild
and woolly, and anyone (male or female) who takes on a female persona
is likely to be hit on. There is indeed a great deal of sextalk, sleaze
and garbage on IRC, and one should exercise caution in allowing children
to access the IRC without supervision. But, as an adult, you are free
to visit only the channels you choose, and there is also a great deal
of positive communication going on.
IRC gained international
fame during the Gulf War in 1991, where updates from around the world
came accross the wire, and most irc users who were online at the time
gathered on a single channel to hear these reports. IRC had similar
uses during the coup against Boris Yeltsin in September 1993, where
IRC users from Moscow were giving live reports about the unstable
situation there.
As you see, Internet
Relay Chat is a great way to talk to people from all over the world
about anything at all. On top of the latest world news there are many
help related and tech support channels where you can get immediate
assistance with perplexing computer related problems on the spot and
in easy to read typewritten form!
